Recent rapid growth of the World Wide Web has allowed people with Internet access the ability to preview and compare various products using a computer system or other device for accessing the Internet, rather than physically shopping for the products. This convenience has dramatically increased the electronic commerce activity on the World Wide Web. Electronic commerce activity will continue to increase as the number of people having Internet access increases and people become more comfortable with electronic commerce.
Because the physical locations of the products ordered are not connected to the presentation of the products, electronic commerce allows number of products presented to be enormous. Uses can become overwhelmed with the quantity of products available via a single electronic commerce Web page. To make electronic shopping more convenient, electronic commerce Web pages often categorize products. For example, an electronic commerce Web page can have links to beauty products, over the counter drugs, books, herbal remedies, etc. A user can then select the general category of interest before being presented with specific products that are available for purchase.
However, because of the large number of products available, users may not be able to remember the specific products that have been purchased or considered for purchase and users who have purchased may desire to repurchase those products at a later date. To go through the process or relocating those products individually can be a burden to the user. Therefore, what is needed is a scheme for assisting users in selecting and purchasing products electronically.